Rocky got into my fan and hit by the blades :(

tupinambis · Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2005 8:51 pm Post subject:

You're rather correct, Slizarus, it is one of the traits of a respiratory pigment - they change colour as the pigment is oxygenated or deoxygenated. The respiratory pigment we are most commonly associated with is our own, hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a dark purplish colour when it has no oxygen bound to it, and changes to the brilliant scarlet we are most familiar with when oxygenated. However, when oxidated (not to be confused with oxygenated, oxidated involves a transfer of electrons), the iron in the hemoglobin changes from the functional ferrous Fe(II) state, to the disfunctional ferric Fe(III) state which takes on the brown colour we see in dried blood or older meat. Consequently, when erythrocytes reach the end of their lifespan and are broken down for recycling, the heme in the hemoglobin is first catabolised by heme oxygenase to form the green linear tetrapyrrole we've been talking about, biliverdin, a toxic byproduct. Well, at least toxic to most vertebrates.

Slizarus · Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2005 4:52 pm Post subject:

Well I'm young yet, and actually.. I just started learning of Ionic compounds last week.. in detail at least and what you said made a great deal of sense.

Very interesting stuff